Party Hard Politics Update |
| Posted: 29 May 2012 11:21 PM PDT Posted by Brian Over the next seven days, all the way up to the recall, I will be bringing updates, information and explanations of the recall election that is happening in Wisconsin. That is correct, I'll be writing one post per day for the next seven days. Any questions I would be more than glad to answer whether it is by the daily update or by comments (Reword: "I would be more than glad to answer any questions, through the daily update or comments). However, before I dissect the details, here is a quick guide to the Wisconsin Recall elections. First of all, why recall? If Scott Walker has not done anything illegal, which may or may not be true, then removing him from office seems an abuse of the recall option. Well, here is a quick history lesson. Robert "Fighting Bob" LaFollette was a Senator in Wisconsin in the early 1900s. If this name is unfamiliar, think about how the people elect the senators directly now. That was because of him. Lafollette also pushed for the recall amendment that is in Wisconsin's constitution. The reason it was put into place was to prevent "corporate corruption" from having a major influence in the politics at the capital building. So, to argue that this is just opening the floodgates, well petitions have been tried before and failed, so the floodgates have been opened for a while, it's just the first flood. Secondly, what does this have to do with America at large? Anyone who doesn't know Wisconsin as a swing state is living under a rock. The election here will explain who will have the uphill battle of mobilizing the burned out defeated party. So who are the players in the most earthshaking elections of this decade? Here is a quick guide to key people and phrases. Scott Walker (R) – Governor of Wisconsin Tom Barrett (D) – Former mayor of Milwaukee and democratic candidate against Scott Walker. He lost the first time, but now the two are in a dead heat. Diane Hendricks – major contributor to Scott Walker, owner of ABC Roofing. She is a billionaire who hails from Beloit. Tim Russell – Walker's chief of staff. Basically the largest link between Walker and the John Doe Scandal (See below for more on John Doe and wait for further coverage later this week) "Divide and Conquer" – a video which shows a meeting between Walker and Hendricks caught on film. This video footage shows Walker essentially saying that he is working to cut down unions by "Divide and conquer" tactics. John Doe Scandal – A scandal where some members of a government program, called Operation Freedom, which supposedly gave money to veterans, however Tim Russell, embezzled about $60,000 from it. The money went to private trips as well as to Walkers campaign, which is where it starts getting shady. There is also a known email correspondence between Walker and Russell, which calls into question whether Walker was knowingly involved. However, he has stated that he will not produce the rest of the emails until after the election, a move which could be either helpful or hurtful to Walker. A more in depth explanation can be found here. The numbers – to say the least, my research is not done or even relatively close to done on this. I will have that tomorrow. But the numbers here are not referring to voters and polls but employment. Since convincing people that economists are right that local governments have very little impact on the job market and employment is about as likely as pigs flying, it needs to be covered. Walker and Barrett have brought to the debate two completely different sets of numbers. Barrett gets his numbers from the Department of Labor and Walker from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As for which is correct? Well that will be what we are going to delve into tomorrow. Since that is what is most prevalent in the ads.
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